---
title: Concepts
edit-this-page-url: https://github.com/airweave-ai/airweave/blob/main/fern/docs/pages/concepts.mdx
slug: concepts
---

Airweave connects to your apps, databases, and documents, then turns them into knowledge you can search. To understand how it works, you only need a few core concepts.

## <Icon icon="fa-solid fa-database" size="5" color="#4199D3" /> Source

A **Source** is a specific application, database, or workspace that Airweave has a connector for. Sources are the external systems where your data lives.

**Examples:** Zendesk, GitHub, Google Drive, Notion, PostgreSQL, Stripe

## <Icon icon="fa-solid fa-plug" size="5" color="#4199D3"/> Connector

A **Connector** is the integration that Airweave provides for a source. It defines what data types can be synced, how authentication works, and the specific entities that can be extracted.

**Examples:**
- Zendesk connector (for tickets, users, organizations)
- GitHub connector (for repositories, issues, pull requests)
- Google Drive connector (for documents, folders, comments)

## <Icon icon="fa-solid fa-link" size="5" color="#4199D3"/> Source Connection

A **Source Connection** is a live connection created from a connector between Airweave and a specific source using your credentials. In that sense, each connection represents an authenticated and synced instance of connection between Airweave and a source.

**Examples:**
- A live connection between Airweave and a Zendesk workspace
- A live connection between Airweave and a specific GitHub repository

## <Icon icon="fa-solid fa-file-alt" size="5" color="#4199D3" /> Entity

An **Entity** is an individual data item pulled from a source. These are the actual pieces of data that get synced and made searchable.

**Examples:**
- A Zendesk ticket or message
- A GitHub issue or pull request
- A Google Doc or spreadsheet
- A database table row

## <Icon icon="fa-solid fa-layer-group" size="5" color="#4199D3"/> Collection

A **Collection** is a searchable knowledge base made up of synced data from one or more source connections. When you search a collection, queries run across all entities from all its connected sources.

**Key features:**
- Unified search interface across multiple sources
- Vector embeddings for semantic search
- Real-time data synchronization
- Configurable search parameters and filters
